Ingredients

When you cut the pears for this bread and butter pudding recipe, be sure to toss them well in lemon juice otherwise they will go brown. If you prefer, instead of making the grappa cream, you can add the grappa straight to the pudding - drizzle about 4tbsp over the bread - and serve it with regular cream.

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25g softened unsalted butter

300ml milk

300ml double cream

100g caster sugar

1/2 cinnamon stick

1tsp vanilla extract

Finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon

3 large eggs, plus 2 egg yolks

175g crustless bread (I use rye), cut into 2-3cm cubes

3 ripe pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1cm chunks

15g roughly chopped hazelnuts

For the grappa cream:

250ml double cream

1½tbsp grappa

1tbsp icing sugar, plus extra for dusting

Method

Generously butter a pudding dish (about 1.7 litres). Bring the milk, cream, sugar and cinnamon to the boil in a heavy-based pan, adding a pinch of salt. Stir to help the sugar dissolve. Remove from the heat. Add the vanilla and lemon zest and leave so the flavours can infuse for 30-40 minutes. Beat the eggs and yolks together. Warm the milk and cream mixture again, remove the cinnamon stick and pour the mixture slowly onto the eggs, whisking. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/fan oven 160º/mark 4.

Toss the bread and the pears together in the pudding dish. Pour on the egg and cream mixture and leave it to sit for 30 minutes.

Put the dish in a roasting tin and add enough boiling water to the tin to come halfway up the sides of the dish. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, then sprinkle over the nuts and continue to cook for a further 10-15 minutes until golden, puffy and just set - gently press the centre with your finger to check. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 15 minutes - the pudding will continue to cook in the residual heat once out of the oven.

Whip the cream until it just holds its shape and add the grappa and icing sugar. Dust the pudding with a little icing sugar and serve with the cream.